


The Last Word

by AmestIbovvered



Category: Perdona nuestros pecados (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 19:07:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmestIbovvered/pseuds/AmestIbovvered
Summary: What starts out as a simple enough conversation reveals a lot more about what love can bring out in someone than maybe they are ready to hear. Does Barbara really believe Mercedes is capable of doing anything for her?





	The Last Word

“I’m done. I’m leaving you,” Barbara spit out, her voice holding together despite who she was speaking to.

Mercedes took a step back, letting out a tiny gasp and tries to cover the look on her face.

“You’re smiling, aren’t you?” Barbara asks, and Mercedes reveals her grin.

“Mercedes, this is useless. How can I convince him if you keep laughing at me when I rehearse? To think I was this close to being an actress,” Barbara sighs. 

“You said it yourself, you were this close,” Mercedes giggles and makes a gesture with her hands signaling a small amount.

“I’m being serious. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I need your support not this child in front of me. I feel as if I’m in the classroom, lecturing to a class that is ignoring me,” Barbara stomps her foot and crosses her arms. 

“No, don’t be like that. I’m sorry my love, I know this isn’t a simple task, I just can’t take you seriously,” Mercedes half smiles, trying to lighten the mood. 

“No? And why is that?” Barbara insists.

“Because you’d never leave me. This I know,” Mercedes sounds so sure of this fact, Barbara almost forgives her on the spot.

“You think you can just get away with anything with me just with your romantic woes? Not today. I’m still mad. You don’t understand, I’ve rehearsed this in my head until it’s ingrained in my thoughts. Over and over and over again. Now that I have space to say it out loud- oh it’s no use Mercedes. It’s no use. He’ll never let me go, even if I beg him,” Barbara’s hopes sink so quickly, Mercedes can’t help herself when she sees her hurt.

“I’ll make him. I’ll-”

“Shh- don’t make promises you can’t even begin to comprehend the consequences of,” Barbara shakes her head. The things that come out of Mercedes mouth always surprised her.

“I’d do anything for us- for you. I hate what moods he puts you in. How overbearing he has become. You’re not his property,” Mercedes almost shakes with anger. Barbara can tell this is something that has been bothering her.

Barbara smiles and grabs Mercedes’ hand. She squeezes it tight, trying to get her to relax.  
“Breathe. You’re getting too worked up. Let me remind you, I’m the one was has to live with him. I’m the one who will reap his wrath. Maybe I’m overthinking it all- Let’s talk about something else,” Barbara can feel Mercedes grip harden. She can’t decide how she feels about this version of the woman she loves. From experience, she knows how this kind of first love could go. At times it terrified her, and at other times it fascinated her.

“I don’t like how he treats you,” Mercedes ignores Barbara’s insistence of them changing the subject. She felt constrained so often, suffocating under all the rules- men’s law. Men’s force. Men’s orders. She was exhausted of it all, but when Barbara spoke of how her husband tries to control her, it made her feel something she had never felt before. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she could see why her brothers sometimes reacted as they did. Was it love? Jealousy? Madness? A little of all of them, she could only figure.

“I’d say the same of how your father treats you. It is who they are by nature. Controlling, manipulative, abusive men,” Barbara slips out, and immediately wishes she could take it back.

Mercedes face falls. “Abusive? You never said before about him hurting you. This changes everything.”

“No. No, that wasn’t- I didn’t mean physically. You know what I mean. Degrading. He would never lay a hand on me. At times- recently, I’ve seen this look in his eye after he’s drunk too much, and I don’t recognize it. It’s a look of a broken man, desperate for something, capable of- But no, he would never hurt me. I swear,” Barbara tries to reassure Mercedes. She looks to see if it got through to her. It hasn’t.

“Now you worry me. How do you think he will react? As you have just described he is unraveling. I’ve seen how broken my father was after his losses. I swear if he- I would- I’d-” Mercedes looks at Barbara, no longer smiling. Barbara wants to say something, wants to stop Mercedes from saying something she’ll regret but she can’t find the words. She is frozen in place, watching as Mercedes makes a decision. 

“I’d kill him,” Mercedes says without skipping a beat.

Barbara pulls her hand away. 

“You’ve never sounded more like a Moller than you do right now. I can’t listen to you speaking like this.”

“It’s wrong of me, I know. I know it. I don’t know what’s overcome me lately. I’m feeling and thinking crazy things. Yet I’ve never felt more at peace of mind. If loving someone as much as I love you means doing anything for that person, despite themselves- I would do anything for you. But when you said that, when I pictured him hurting you, my stomach felt in knots. I do not believe violence is the answer- I know this- but then, just now, I believed I could do something terrible. I know this sounds awful, I’m ashamed. I do not want to be as bad as the men in our life, please,” Mercedes backtracks, trying to come to a conclusion about why she said it. Mercedes, a sweet, well-natured girl. As innocent as any, and as pure as an angel. Love does strange things to a person. She knows Barbara can handle herself, and she was sure if one of her brothers ever harmed her friends, she would do everything to help them. But this was different, and not because it wasn’t family. 

“I’m sorry, I just realized the time. I need to go. He’ll be home soon, and I have enough things to deal with,” Barbara slips her jacket back on.

“These violent delights have violent ends,” Barbara mutters to herself.

Mercedes is taken aback. Barbara was also not a violent person, by any means, but she was also not passive. They were both fighters. It’s something that Mercedes admired about her.

“Barbara, wait-” Mercedes calls out, trying to grab her before she leaves. She hated it when they separated without finishing a conversation. Sometimes it was days before they could find privacy to speak openly, and every second felt heavier and longer than the one before.

“Mercedes...please understand, I love you. But I can’t look at you right now. I know you just spoke what came to you, but it scares me. I don’t want you to feel as though you need to save me. That kind of love- it never leads to a happy ending. For anyone. You care with all your heart, and have such a beautiful soul- I never want that to change, especially because of me,” Barbara kisses Mercedes hand, and gently pats it.

“Remember before all this, when I held your hand in the theater because you were scared? I love that Mercedes. And when you broke all your principles and changed Sofia’s grade? I love that Mercedes. When you held me after I had another fight with my husband and we kissed for the first time? I love that Mercedes. And tonight, when you said you would do anything to protect me? I even love that Mercedes. All versions of you, I wish to kiss them over and over again, because they make you you,” Barbara smiles, but time is ticking away and she really was running late.

“Prove it. Kiss me and tell me we’ve made up. I can’t stand you leaving when you’re upset,” Mercedes frowns, trying to put on the saddest face she could. Something that Barbara couldn’t possibly walk away from.

Barbara sighs. She knows deep down she wasn’t mad at Mercedes. The truth was- Barbara would do the same. But she didn’t want that to ever come into play. They had enough secrets to hold, without hiding a body. 

“Five minutes. But then I really have to go,” Barbara smirks, and starts to gesture for Mercedes to undress, but Mercedes shakes her head.

“Let’s go over this again. The sooner you separate from Nicanor, the sooner you won’t have to deal with me losing my mind. So, no kisses from me until you divorce me,” Mercedes stands her ground, waiting for Barbara.

“Fine, have it your way. But in five minutes, many things can get accomplished,” Barbara teases Mercedes, and she grins as she can see her cheeks turning pink.

For the next five minutes, Barbara went over the words until they almost became meaningless. 

Well, for the first two minutes she tried to, at least. The last three- those were saved for Mercedes, and Mercedes alone.


End file.
